


A castle in the clouds

by AvaDiablo



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Drunkenness, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-07-10 08:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6975490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvaDiablo/pseuds/AvaDiablo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Nino unexpectedly stays the night at Aiba's house after they both come home a little drunk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A castle in the clouds

"Nino," Aiba murmurs close to his ear, as they stand close together in his genkan with the front door still slightly ajar. His voice carries the scent of alcohol and it takes him both hands to the wall to find his barring. Nino, who is the lesser drunk of the two this evening, wants to close it, but he just cannot reach it. Instead, he just stands a bit awkward as he looks up at his taller friend, who has no desire to preform the task of closing the door.

"Yeah, say my name like that. That always turns me on." Nino sounds dryly, not even on purpose and the confusion in Aiba's face is enough to make him smile deviously.

"I'm not trying to..." Aiba frowns as he tries to get his brain a little less drunk somehow.

"I know," Nino muses as he slips out of the half embrace Aiba had wanted to pull him in, before he stumbled into the wall with Nino sandwiched between them, "Let's just take your shoes off and get you to bed."

At this Aiba slowly nods as he looks around for something that ought to be there.

"There are still no chairs here," he ponders in thought. Nino laughs at him. For some reason every time they end up drunk at Aiba's house the owner wonders why there are no chairs in his genkan. Probably because he is drunk enough to not remember the embarrassing amount of times he had fallen over in the past. On the other hand, he also thinks it's a weird idea to put chairs in the genkan when he is actually sober - to end up wondering about it again when he is drunk. Talk about the weird cycles Aiba's mind comes up with, Nino muses as he watches his friend sink to the floor in a rather unstable manner.

The younger one already has his house slippers on before Aiba is done with one shoe, which doesn't even have laces. He sits and stares in wonder at the toes of them with a soft expression on his face lost in thought. The sight makes Nino smile even if he doesn't really want to.

"Come on, baka! Hurry up; I want to go home too."

Aiba stares up and blinks in surprise. "you aren't staying over? You're off work tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Only tomorrow morning. It's the only time off I've gotten in a long time, so I really want to go home to enjoy it." Aiba mouths a silent 'oh'. Nino waits for the pout of the sunshine boy, but Aiba seems to mull it over and accept it for what it is.

"You okay?" the younger of the two questions his friend as he helps him up and shows him into the living room. His friend just nods, a little too hastily before he stills and sniffs the air, making a face between disgusted and frowning.

"Smells like booze in here."

Nino chuckles. "That's you, Aibashi," and the chuckle turns to amused laughter as Aiba starts sniffing his sweater and sleeves. The face he makes when he takes his sweater and shirt off, only to realise that he's gotten himself stuck with his arms in the clothing is priceless. Nino helps him get out of the tangle and can't stop laughing and teasing Aiba with the situation.

"I want to take a shower. Oh god, this scent is nauseating. It's everywhere!" As Aiba voices his irritation Nino looks slightly worried.

"Wouldn't it be better if you just showered in the morning and sleep it off for tonight? You might want to take a bath and accidentally drown. And I want to go home."

"It will just take a minute, just to get this smell off of me. Besides, it will save me the trouble of cleaning my bed sheets again. Just did that this morning, "Aiba counters a bit offended and childish. He pouted by the very idea he had to lie in bed like that. "Go home, Nino, I can manage to take a shower by myself."

"Like you managed to get out of your sweater and your shoes?" Nino couldn't resist to ask and he sighed in resignation, glancing at his watch, "Fine! Go on then, I'll wait. I might as well make us some tea, or something so we can both sober up a bit."

"You know, you can just sleep over. I've got a perfectly good bed." Aiba sounded matter of factly, nodding his head in agreement to his words. It made Nino grin deviously.

"Are you sure you're not hitting on me? Between the moaning of my name in the genkan and now the invitation to your bed - I think you're trying pretty hard here."

"I meant spare bedroom, Nino. God! Like I would want you in my bed." With that Aiba stalked off to the bathroom feeling highly offended, making obvious gestures with his hands showing how preposterous Nino's comment was. The other just smirked as he ventured into the kitchen to make the tea, hearing Aiba slam the door shut. "And they call me a kid," the little brat mused.

The only thing Nino did was turn on the water heater and pick up the fowl smelling sweater. He couldn't really blame Aiba for reacting to his teasing. After all, the guy was drunk, and smelling like a liquor store gone sour. He probably would want to take a shower too if situations were reversed, but then again, he wouldn't run into a waiter with a full tray of booze in the first place. He couldn't help grin at the memory or a drenched Aiba apologising profusely, and the mortified waiter who was doing the same as if his life depended on it. Then both of them went begging the owner of the establishment to not fire the waiter over the incident which had soaked one of Japan's most influential idols head to toe.

He knocked on the door and peeked in after waiting only five seconds. At least Aiba was in the shower and not in the bath drowning, Nino noted with some relief. He took the rest of the clothes Aiba had left on the floor and put them in the washing machine.

"Aiba-san, I'm calling a taxi and am going home. You need anything before I go?" There was no sound, except for the water splashing onto the floor in the small compartment. The glass walls were not exactly see-through and even if he couldn't see Aiba clearly; he saw the blurry shape of him sink to his knees.

Before the whole situation registered with Nino, he heard the heavy heaving of Aiba emptying his stomach on the bathroom floor. Nino sighed; apparently Aiba was more drunk than he expected. Shaking his head with some dismay, he knocked softly on the glass door and peeked in without waiting for an answer. He could forget about going home tonight.

"Well, if this isn't a sight for sore eyes. You'll stop at nothing to get me to spend the night, will you?" He said it in jest to the sight of Aiba hunched over, quite naked, wet and obviously not enjoying his shower. He tried to cast Nino with the most condemning look he could muster before his stomach called again. Nino side stepped the chaos and moved the shower to spray else where instead all over his friend and the mess he was making, but he kept it running so most of the contents got taken down the drain.

"Go. Home," his sick friend breathed between heavy, quickened breaths, "Don't. Need you." Nino smirked and took the towel from the rack where Aiba had hung it. He draped it over Aiba's back and rubbed some warmth into him, while pushing some of his hair off his forehead.

"Like I will leave you here by yourself like this right now, baka," Nino softly said in a tone he didn't use all that often. He could feel the stiff shoulders relax a bit underneath his rubbing hands.

They waited together until Aiba's stomach was settling down. It was cringe-worthy by all accounts. Nino dried Aiba off and it could have been a great moment for some awfully wicked and misplaced comments if it wasn't for Aiba not really being in the mood for what he considered fun.

He found Aiba a shirt and underwear to sleep in before dragging the owner of the house by the wrist to his bedroom.

"All tugged in," Nino mused sitting next to Aiba when he was done putting his friend underneath the covers. He leaned towards the other before stopping himself feeling a little weirded out. Aiba looked up into his eyes with a little frowning but then he smiled radiantly as if he knew what Nino was thinking in that moment.

"Thank you, Nino," he breathed as he waited staring up with sparkly eyes. The smile faltered as Nino retreated and tugged him in some more to which Aiba ventured a little disappointed, "No kiss?"

"Of course not, silly! Why would you think that?" Aiba shrugged and it felt all the more weird since Aiba had guessed the spontaneous but flaky action.

"Just felt like you would, I suppose." The comment made Nino smirk.

"I guess you are still very drunk for thinking that."

"Are you going home now?" Aiba wanted to know as he turned to his side and put an arm under his pillow, yawning.

"Yeah. I'm just going to get you some water and head out after that."

"Okay," his taller friend mumbled sleepy, "be safe on your way. Text me when you're there."

After Nino got him some water and stroked through his hair now that his friend was sound asleep he whispered close to his ear, "Like I would leave you alone, now, baka. Sweet dreams, Aibashi," after which he leaned in and pressed his lips softly to the temple of the other.

Nino made some tea for himself. He was tired and even though he had not planned on sleeping over, he couldn't get himself to leave his friend like that. He knew where to find the spare futons. He could also just crash on Aiba's bed or in the spare bedroom, which doubled as a study. If he hadn't felt so tired, he probably would have taken one of the futons and played some games on Aiba's game centre until he could hardly keep his eyes open. Or he could snuggle up in Aiba's insane big bed - that was always an option, but if Aiba was still sick... He shuddered with the idea. No, thank you, he'd rather pass on that option.

Before going to bed, he checked up on Aiba and left the bedroom door open so he could hear him if he got sick again, which he probably wouldn't. But it made Nino feel better.

He changed into an old shirt he had left at Aiba's place long ago. His friend washed it every single time when he stayed over; the scent of detergent was strangely intimate to him. He grinned at himself for feeling a little giddy about such a small thing.

He left the door to the bedroom annex study ajar as well before turning in for the night. He sighed as he lay on his back staring up at the ceiling. He blamed the alcohol for the weird sweet feelings he was having about his friend.

Aiba tended to get sick and he tended to ... well, care - maybe a bit too much. As he got comfortable underneath the covers he told himself not to think too much of it. Just part of having crushes on people you spend too much time with. In addition, if memory serves well, he had crushes on all of his band mates somewhere a long the line. "It is natural and it will go away again," he told himself more confident than he actually felt. Even if it wasn't natural, it was just the way it was between them. Or maybe in the end it was just him being too close to someone for a really long time.

~

Nino cracked open one eye as the sunlight streamed into the room. He was thankful to have the day off. He blinked, lying on his stomach, arms underneath the pillow, staring into the unfamiliar room before closing it again. Sighing contently, he snuggled closer to the warmth engulfing him while his brain processed the feeling that something didn't quite add up this morning. With his face half buried into the pillow he opened his eye again, taking in the surroundings for a short moment. This was Aiba's study which doubled as a spare bedroom. It wasn't strange he was here. He remembered he wanted to go home, but stayed the night anyway to make sure his friend was okay. So, he argued with his gut feeling, what's not right here?

Besides, Aiba's spare bed wasn't that bad to sleep on as he inhaled the faint lingering scent of Aiba's fabric softener left in the pillow. It was however that moment his brain short-circuited and seemed to pause for a second, or maybe two, before processing the obvious at a hyper speed.

1\. The T-shirt he was wearing for the night was lying on the floor, next to the bed.

2\. He was not alone in this bed as he just now noticed the weight of an arm lingering around his shoulder. It pulled him closer to the source of the warmth that had made him feel lazily content and at easy this morning.

3\. The extent of his nakedness dawned on him when he could feel every inch of the actual warm body next to him. He was not wearing anything. They both weren't!

4\. Holy heck! What happened last night?

"You awake?" mumbled Aiba, pulling him closer and noticing the reluctance to move within the other. Nino just nodded not knowing what to think of it. It wasn't as if they had never shared a bed together. How often had he not fallen asleep beside Aiba while he was playing games on his bed when Aiba had read his manga? He had stayed over more times then he could possibly count over the years.

To be honest, it had been a while lately. They were both busy people and well, there was a history between them. One he was in favour of forgetting, even if it had in huge ways defined their relationship as close to best friends. The sigh which escaped his lips, as his brain seemed to slow down from hyper to troubled and honestly just tried to just come up with a reasonable explanation while triggering every alarm bell possible, was no longer as content as the previous one.

Feeling distraught with the whole notion of being naked together on Aiba's spare bed he missed Aiba's comment completely and only went back to registering he was next to him - naked- when his fingers left his shoulder and gently 'walked' across the skin of his back to play with the strands of his hair lingering in his neck. "What's wrong, Nino?"

His friend sounded sleepy, not yet fully awake, but even through the apparent drowsiness Nino could hear the concern in his voice. Nevertheless, he didn't know how to answer that as he sought for something to say, which was uncharacteristic for him, since he could talk his way out of almost anything. This, however, was just not one of those times. Because if something had happened, he would probably only break his friend's heart in the long run and they had done enough damage to each other to last a life time. Therefore they had sworn nothing would and should ever happen again between them.

"Nino?"

"It's fine, Masa-chan. Go back to sleep."

"Masa-chan? You are now making me officially worried. Tell me. Are the dreams still bothering you?" Aiba leaned in closer; his breath lingered kind of pleasantly on the back of his neck, as Nino stayed on his stomach, pointedly not facing Aiba and keeping his eyes closed. That sensation of breath crossing his skin triggered all kinds of happy feelings from back in the day - a little too pleasant - and too shocking to be confronted with this early in the morning.

"What's the time?" Nino instead asked instead of answering Aiba's inquiry; he could hear the other sigh with the lack of response. He felt Aiba lean over him to check the time on the alarm clock on the floor and lie back again. But now using Nino's back for a pillow as he settled down, slipping his arms around Nino's unmoveable frame.

"Just passed five am. You have the morning off, right? Then we can sleep in together. That would be nice." His tall friend yawned during the last part of his comment showing it was no time to get up yet.

Nice was not really the word Nino would use. It was a bit unsettling how quickly he got used to being naked in bed with Aiba. It was equally unsettling that he couldn't find the answers he wanted and he didn't really want to ask about last night. Because he remembered everything; Drinking, getting home, putting a sick Aiba in bed, deciding he was staying the night even though he really didn't want to. See, everything until he fell asleep and woke up. That part was hugely missing. And he had not been that drunk to forget it!

"I was kind of surprised to find you here last night," Aiba mumbled sleepily as if he had guessed what Nino was thinking about. Part of his lips moved against the skin of his back as he spoke. Nino knew he shouldn't care, but the movement made his heart jump a little, before turning the already hectic beats in to a heavier, faster version. And even thought he found his reaction a little annoying he couldn't keep the reminiscing smile off his face.

"You were sick, I didn't want to leave you alone," Nino returned half into the pillow. After all there was no need for Aiba to see the state he was slowly letting himself sink in. This was playing with fire. And if Nino loved one thing in this world, it was playing with the one that still lingered between them.

"Why didn't you tell me you still have nightmares?" Nino frowned. Nightmares? He hadn't have nightmares in the years.

"What do you mean? Did I have nightmares last night?"

"Hmm," was the reply. Another yawn and the pressure on his upper back increased a little as Aiba snuggled impossibly closer. "You woke me up. I thought someone was in my house. Since my bedroom door was open, and then I noticed the door to the study was open." He could feel Aiba's smile when he continued with some relief, "Then I found you. And your nightmare. Do you remember what it was about?"

"No, I don't." but that explained part of why he couldn't recall what happened last night.

"I couldn't wake you up. So I just crawled into bed with you and held you for a while. You were pretty active and kind of strong even."

"Active?" That did not sound quite right.

"Hmm? Oh, I meant you were rolling about frantically and thrashing your arms and legs like you were fighting off something. I tried to calm you down." Aiba sounded so matter of factly like there was nothing wrong with the fact that he had held Nino last night.

"Did it work?" Obviously, it had, Nino chastise himself, what a silly question.

"It did, I suppose, but not as fast as it used to, though. I held you tight for a good fifteen minutes or so." There was a pause before Aiba seemed to remember something, "Oh, I might have caused you some bruises. I'm sorry, but you were really fighting against the whole world or something."

Nino tried to remember the dreams from last night but came up with nothing and instead apologised to his long time friend for waking him up.

"Like I mind," Aiba's sluggish responded, "I used to do it all the time, remember?" Yeah, like he would ever forget those nights where he fought of his demons in the warm arms of Aiba, whether they had been together of not.

"Can - can I ask you something?" Nino ventured a bit restless and unsure.

"Hmm?" The tone in that on syllable was curious and amused, "You can ask me anything; you should know that by now."

Nino smirked, feeling the pounding of his heart, though he was unsure if it was cause by the fact he was going to ask the questions about last night, or the answers he was fearing to hear.

"Why..." Nino paused for a moment, "why are we naked in bed together?"

"Ah! You don't remember last night, do you? Such a shame. It was truly amazing." There was a telltale teasing in his voice as he ran a few of his fingers through Nino's messy bed hair. He stayed where he was; lying on Nino's back as he continued. "So that's what you were worried about," Aiba said, more to himself than to Nino as it dawned on him why Nino was acting a little off this morning, "You can't recall your nightmare? Or anything that happened after that? And now that you're left wondering what -" He cut himself off and started laughing softly. "Poor Kazu-pon. Left wondering what happened, ne?"

"Shut up! Don't you make it worse then it already is."

"I doubt anything I'll tell you is as worse as what you are imaging right now, though. Nothing happened, not really anyway." Up until the 'not really, anyway' Nino was feeling a flood a relief travel through his body.

"What does that mean 'not really'?"

"You really don't remember?"

"Why do you sound like I'm making this up?"

"I'm not! I'm just surprised. Hmm, well, any way, after you calmed down a bit, we fell asleep. Until you woke me again with your struggle to get out of your T-shirt." He felt another smile cross Aiba's lips against the skin of his back. He couldn't help but wonder how long it has been since they were in bed like this together. However, immediately after the thought crossed his mind he corrected himself; after all it was not smart thinking things while they were as they were. He should be grateful they remained such close friends after everything they have been through.

"You were complaining about being hot, but for some reason you got stuck inside your T-shirt. I still don't know if you were actually awake or not, but you ordered me to help you 'escape this death trap' and so I did." When Aiba didn't continue Nino got suspicious, even if the smile and soft shaking of his body betrayed his silent laughter.

"Then what?"

"Then what 'what'?"

"Don't play dumb with me. We are obviously not wearing anything! Stop teasing me!"

"Oh, please, behave, Nino-chan. If this were me in your shoes, you'd be having a field day. You would be quite relentless in letting me believe my own version without either agreeing or disagreeing. Not as fun now that the situation is reversed, ne?" Nino just grumbled something which didn't sound apologetic, mainly because Aiba had pretty much narrowed it down. He hated it that Aiba could make more sense of things than he could on occasion. But that was also part of why he loved the guy like crazy. Wait what?

"After the T-shirt situation you were still complaining! So, I suggested removing the last bit of clothing you were wearing. Honestly, you gave me quite the shock when you actually threw it out of the bed. I mean you were naked! Then, after I thought we could finally get some sleep, you started complaining that it was all my fault that you were still feeling hot. So... yeah..."

"Well, you could've refused," Nino mumbled when Aiba stayed quiet, trying to remember last night or make sense of the whole situation. It sounded bizarre, even too weird to be made up by Aiba.

"You were all over me trying to remove them yourself," Aiba said in defence, "Honestly, I did us a favour. At least we could get some sleep."

Right, naked, close near each other, with Aiba's arm across his back, like they were long lost lovers again. And now, Aiba was lying with his head on his back, like it was normal for him to do so. His arms sneaked underneath Nino's pillow to hold onto his arms.

"Ne, Nino, can I ask you something?" Nino smiled at the repeat of the question he posted not too long ago.

"Sure, you can tell me anything," he answered, and he would probably use what ever was told to him against Aiba somewhere down the line.

He could feel Aiba's fingers draw circles on his left arm; he could feel his warm breath on the skin of his back. It felt good, familiar; the feeling of being closer than they should; the secrecy of it all - it tugged at his heart. He wanted to give in. Wanted to stay like this, probably forever, and not care about every one else. However, as much as he loved to dwell on his fantasies, his dreams, he was in the end a realist. And it was that part in him that cautioned him; that he needed to erect the walls around his heart in protection; to proceed with care into this mine field he trespassing onto.

Because in the end, one or both of them would end up having their heart crushed - yet again. He needed to protect them, both of them, but that pleasant feeling of having his body covered with Aiba's was hard to resist. It was hard to deny his friend anything in this moment.

"Do you remember way back when, around our third year of something we stayed in those hotel rooms together?"

"Huh?" That was definitely not something he was thinking about very often, and not something he would bring up now.

"You know the time where I was filming with Sho-kun the behind-the-scenes things of the concerts? When we walked into his bedroom to show people our rooms and how we walked incidentally into you sharing your futon with Leader? What was it, like 2004-ish?"

Oh, right. Nino frowned at the memory. Not because he was weirded out that it happened nor that it was caught on tape. Not even when it aired on Jikan for all of Japan (and by definition the rest of the world) to see. He has been prone to nightmares, often got home sick, and as it turned out so did their Leader. They spend lots of times together like that; locked into a protective embrace, countering the harsh reality of loneliness and insecurity. No he wasn't weirded out by it; he was just confused as to why Aiba had brought it up. Was this related to this secret he wanted to share? That was not much of a secret though.

"Of course I remember. I was there, you know," Nino softly laughed. He could hear the hum Aiba gave in response.

"I guess I've always been conscious about you and Leader," he stated with a sigh dwelling on the past, "but after that, after finding you like that... I got jealous at Leader playing that kind of role in your life, you know."

No, Nino didn't know. He also had nothing to respond to that seeing as Aiba had managed to floor him completely. And this was someone who he knew as well as he knew himself.

"We were close for so many years," Aiba said. Nino picked up on the sad tone in his voice. "I really thought... Up until that point, I had assumed I was the only one to comfort you. Silly, isn't it." Aiba stayed silent for a bit, while Nino processed, "After all, we had many sleepovers. We were in each other's company every single day. I let myself believe that I was your only best friend. That no one could ever replace my place in your life. That-"

"Aiba-san," Nino cut in, being well aware that the mine field just became that much trickier to navigate, "Nothing will replace you in my life. Ever. We will always be best friends and -"

"But Kazu-chan," the taller one said, crawling the few centimetres to Nino's ear to whisper, "I don't want to be just best friends."

Nino could swear he felt Aiba's heavy heart beat against his back. It beat in the same rhythm as his own; curious and terrified. It was not often he was left speechless for so long; Aiba was doing a pretty nifty job of keeping him on his toes this morning.

"I don't want you to -," the younger one started. He couldn't finish, because he didn't know how to end that sentence. He didn't want Aiba to feel this way, didn't want him to voice what he held hidden, didn't want him to have that kind of hope. And yet, he wanted to give in despite all the warning signs going off in his head. However, the reality of it all was too much. How would they make this work? How could they even -

"Turn around," Aiba whispered into his ear. The soft breath of his voice tickled the skin it touched. Don't, Nino said to himself, turning around is not a smart thing to do. Despite himself he turned onto his back any way and faced his friend for the first time that morning. The beating of his heart caused his breath tho be slightly erratic; caused his fears to become reality; letting doubt and worry have free reign and mess with his mind.

But those eyes... Deep brown eyes, shiny and smiling, ever so friendly with not a care in the world. Those eyes held no secrets and Nino searched them for answer he didn't have himself. Aiba stared down on him; a smile lingered between hesitation and wonder, just as much as he stared up. Nino swallowed. This was nothing compared to a minefield, this was way more complicated.

Aiba lowered his body; there was no way to hide how he was feeling about the situation, much to the delight of Aiba. The usual smile he sported when he was happy was brighter than sunshine, but this one - this one was only meant for him, and only seen by a very select group of people Aiba had truly loved over the years.

He move closer, leaning his weight on his arms; fingers playing with the strands of Nino's hair. Still the younger one sought for the answers that were escaping him. He wanted to trust the idea that things could work out. The moan elicited from his lips when Aiba moved against him sounded more like a whimper; suppressed by the unwillingness to actually give in. He was so close to him, just mere centimetres face to face; flush against him, body to body; so warm and enticing that the scent of him filled his being with the kind of hope he didn't dare have.

"Kazu," The whispered sound of his name, the raw emotion hidden within, the want and longing; it all fought for a place, "I'm not asking for the moon, you know."

"Maybe not. You might not even be asking for the impossible, but you are asking for something I don't know how to give. There is no casualness between us, Masaki; it either is or isn't. There is no grey area - not with us."

Because in the end I don't want to be responsible for breaking your heart.

However, even as he thought it, his hands cupped Aiba's cheek without him wanting it too. There was this telltale glance in Aiba's eyes that said so much, conveyed maybe too much. It was enticing as much as it was scary. This was no longer just playing with fire. This was more like jumping around in said minefield on a freaking pogo stick. If he let this happen, how could things be ever normal between them again? It took them ages to settle down into the tight friendship which they had going right now. With glances, and touches that reminded them how it used to be, but never wanting to go back to that time. Because in the end, it nearly had destroyed everything they had worked so hard for.

"Nino, I-"

It was this moment that scared Nino the most; after all, who knew what Aiba was going to say after I? It could be anything from 'Nino, I need to' to 'Nino, I want us to try again' to 'Nino, I love you'. The whole arsenal of possibilities was frightening and so he did the only thing he didn't want to, to keep Aiba from finishing his sentence. He pulled Aiba closer and locked their lips together in a kiss.

It wasn't the first kiss they shared, but it was the first one in a very long time. It brought back memories Nino had hidden away. Memories of infinite sunshine of just being together; memories of how glorious it had been once upon a time. Even if this kiss happened because he didn't want to hear what Masaki had to say, he didn't want to stop feeling this way. It was addictive; the taste of his lips, the feeling of the tip of his tongue exploring his lips before seeking entrance and playing with his, the pressure of both his mouth and body against his, the slow movements they made body wise as this kiss deepened. It was the feeling of getting home after being away since forever.

"Nino," mumbled Aiba against his mouth, rubbing up against him, "Nino-"

"Stop talking," was the only comment Nino made between kisses and intakes of air. He mind stop working, too occupied with the sensation coursing through his being. Aiba left his mouth to kiss the skin of his neck and let his tongue dance around to entice sounds of lust and want from Nino's lips as he effortlessly found all the sensitive areas there as if they'd made love only hours ago. Lower Aiba went, before Nino strung his fingers into the locks his hair to pull him back to his mouth.

There was a sigh rolling from Masaki's lips; one that sounded content and happy. It filled Nino with more joy than he had felt in a long time.

"Nino," Aiba hummed against his lips. There was something off with the way his name sound. Urgent, but not the good kind of urgent. Not the wanting kind of urgent.

"Nino!"

Nino blinked up to another Aiba, who shook him rather violently. Nino blinked and looked around in a confused daze, trying to hold on to the Aiba who hastily seemed to vanish into thin air. He looked up again to the full clothed Aiba who breathed a sigh of relief seeing Nino come to his full senses.

"Geez, dude! What were you dreaming?"

Nino's eyes grew in shock, noting that this new Aiba sat straddled over him on the bed. And he was close to him, so close. Only now did Nino notice where his hands were - inside of his underwear turning the shock into embarrassment and he could feel a deep burning colour crawl to his cheeks.

"I bet it was hot," Aiba grinned cheekily, "Sorry to have woken you, but it's close to noon. You only had the morning off, right? So you should hurry up. I made breakfast, but it's lunch now. I was surprised that you stayed the night though."

Aiba smiled happily, talked bubbly and Nino took his hands out from his underwear and put them behind his head to stare up challenging; he wasn't called brat for nothing. However, Aiba's smile, just like the one in his dream, was one he didn't see often these days. There was something personal hidden in it and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Did you stay because you were concerned for me?" whispered Aiba as if it was a secret leaning closer to his friend.

"I was," Nino said in the same hushed, secretive tone to which Aiba's happy smile turned impossibly brighter. He pressed a soft kiss on Nino's forehead.

"Thank you for your concern," and to that Nino could just nod. He tried to swallow away the stinging feeling telling him he ought to speak up. But as he sought for the right kind of words, Aiba got off the bed and turned to him energetically from the doorway like he always did. He either pretended not to notice the state Nino was in or it really escaped his attention.

"Get a move on, Kazu-chan! You're going to be late!"

It left Nino with not other option but to sucked up the feelings he still had towards the other. But in the end he would rather be broken hearted on his own than jeopardise their friendship again.


End file.
